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Instead of adding sample data when the initial view would be empty, I prefer to replace the empty view with a message about what the user should be doing first.

So instead of "0 photos" and a blank page, it could say "Get started by [uploading some photos]".

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It annoys me when onboarding basically means having to delete the demo data that was automatically added because I like my apps clean and tidy, and because random data makes it difficult to discover the app's functionality my myself. Maybe there's a compromise where you can suggest to the user that they can import demo data to see the potential of the app?

When I tried Asana, they had lots of example projects you could choose to add. These showed what's possible with the more advanced features.

I really like this approach because the use case for products like these varies from one client to another. Just throwing in some demo data that's always the same wouldn't really help everyone.

This is great UX advice! Turn an otherwise empty view into an invitation.

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